More Cowbell would have been cheaper.  But diesel it was and January.  Lousy time to sail, great time for maintenance.  Mentioned a while back during the general maintenance of the engine that some more major issues were found.  Even though the engine sounded and ran great, we wanted to have the engine as reliable as possible, so scheduled the needed fixes.  One diesel mechanic and three days of full time work later, Charisma has a practically new engine.  A real tear down.  Both aft engine mounts were rusted out and it turns out, not actually holding anything down anymore.  This necessitated that the rear of the engine get lifted so the mounts could be cut off and replaced.  The air filter was corroded so off it came, and in the process it was discovered that the manifold had corrosion inside.  Off came the manifold and a new one was ordered.  The cooling system needed to be flushed and in the process off came the heat exchanger.  It got sent out to be overhauled (cleaned and flushed).  The original 40 amp alternator was judged too small for long term cruising, so guess what?  Off came the alternator and a new 120 amp powerhouse was put in its place.  I was hoping to fix the hot water heater hoses during this event (water system is heated by the engine), but discovered that a 20-year old hot water heater lasts about 19 years.  Off came the hoses and plugs were substituted in the engine until a new unit is decided upon.  After a few hours of watching all the stuff come off, coolant dripping on the floor, rust going in the bilge, mechanic muttering; “uh oh, this doesn’t look good”, parts stacking up everywhere, etc., I couldn’t stand the carnage any longer and went home. So…a few days and couple more boat dollars later a new corrosion-free, newly painted completely overhauled engine is now awaiting future adventures.  Oh, did I mention that we found out the exhaust diameter is too small?  Another project sometime this summer.